


The Schaffers

by iloveitblue



Series: Prompts [253]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 15:30:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4227132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveitblue/pseuds/iloveitblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the one where Clint has nice neighbors but they have the wrong idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Schaffers

**Author's Note:**

> The Schaffers were very hospitable people. 

Or at least that's what Clint told Phil. 

Phil believed him, of course. There was no reason for Clint to lie to him, after all. It's just that sometimes when Phil passed them in the hall, Mrs. Schaffer looked concerned while Mr. Schaffer is glared at Phil. Either way, Phil gives them a polite nod and a 'Good Morning' before he knocks on Clint's door every time. 

"I think your neighbors want me dead." Phil told Clint as he closed the door behind him.

"Which one?" Clint walked back to the kitchen where he was preparing dinner. It's not often that either of them get to leave HQ fairly early, so times like these they took turns cooking for each other. "'Coz if it's that Renner guy, well, that's just his face."

Phil has seen 'that Renner guy' and Phil's gotta say, he bears an eerie resemblance to Clint. Resting bitch face or not. "No, the one across the hall, the Schaffers." Phil told him as he was unloading the grocery he'd bought on the way. He placed the groceries in the pantry slowly because he knew that Clint wasn't going to let him help with the cooking just like how he doesn't let Clint help when it's his turn to cook. 

"Lily and Harold? But they're the sweetest neighbors ever." Clint defended absently, his focus on cutting the carrots into cubes before he dumped them into the pan. "They even offered to cook for me that one time I got a cast on my arm and you were in Jakarta. Said something about pizza not being healthy for me."

Phil hummed, "They're right, you know."

"Pffft. I could live the rest of my life with just pizza." Clint declared. Strangely, this wasn't the first time they debated over this. "Why are you siding with them anyway, I thought you said they're trying to kill you?" Clint raised him an amused eyebrow. 

"Murder intentions toward me aside, they can't be all that bad if they're looking out for you." Phil shrugged.

\---

Phil hurried up the stairs to Clint's apartment. It's not that he didn't think Clint could take care of himself while injured, it was just a leg injury and a few cuts and bruises, he just didn't like the idea of Clint struggling to get off of the couch to go pee or something. So he volunteered to help Clint while the archer was incapacitated. He just had to grab a few things from his own apartment after he dropped Clint off so he could rest. 

Phil opened the door, surprised to see not one but two visitors in Clint's house that wasn't his coworker. "Hey Phil, look. Lily brought us cookies." Clint declared happily even as he munched on one. 

Mrs. Schaffer came back from the kitchen with a tray of iced teas. Probably homemade. "Here you go, sweetheart." Mrs. Schaffer handed Clint a glass of iced tea 

"Thank you, you're an agel, Lily." She laughed softly and then turned to Phil. 

"What about you, dear? Iced tea?"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Schaffer." Phil answered primly. For the first time since High School he felt like he was being interrogated by his partner's parents.

"Phillip, may I see you in the kitchen?" Mr. Schaffer said as he headed to the kitchen. Phil followed wordlessly, looking back in time to see Mrs. Schaffer pat Clint's head. 

Yep. Definitely like High School.

Mr. Schaffer gestured for Phil to sit down on one of the bar stools and Phil obeyed. They were silent for what seemed like forever but was probably just ten seconds until Mr. Schaffer cleared his throat.

"Clint is a nice guy." Mr. Schaffer opened. 

Phil wasn't sure where this was going, but he agreed with the statement. "He is."

"Did you know he fixed our sink for us the first week we moved in? Landlord was being a dick and ignored our complaints. Clint was the only neighbor that offered to help us. After that, he looked out for us. So we did the same. We look out for him."

Phil remained quiet. He didn't know that story. Clint told him about the Jakarta incident and that the Schaffers were really nice but that's about it. Other than the sweets that Mrs. Schaffer frequently offered Clint, there was nothing. "He's very grateful. He's told me so much about how you were very nice to him." Phil said not really having anything else to say.

Mr. Schaffer raised his hand in the universal sign of 'Yeah, okay, shut up now'. "My point is, that is a good person out there. And we want what's best for him as much as we want him to be happy. Frankly, we don't think you're it." Phil didn't speak. He was well aware that Clint was too good for him, but for it to be said to his face outright? That fucking hurt. "Clint loves you, that much we can see, but we can also see that he's hurting. Almost everyday he comes home and he has a new bruise or a cut, sometimes a cast. We don't like seeing him hurt. And if you truly did love Clint, you wouldn't hurt him like that. You would never raise a hand against him no matter what he did to you. He deserves better than that."

Phil's head snapped up. Did he just- Do they think he did that to Clint?

"We know it isn't our place-"

"Wait. Are you- Are you suggesting that I was the one who beat Clint up?" Phil asked, suddenly afraid. 

"There's no use denying it, Phillip. We've seen enough." Mr. Schaffer sighed. 

"No, I didn't do that to him. I wouldn't. Not even if my life depended on it." Phil tried. He had to make them understand. 

"Then how do you explain his injuries?"

"Work."

"He gets beat up working at a firm?"

"Yes- No." Great. Years of interrogation skills and he flounders this one. "Yes and no." Mr. Schaffer waited for him to elaborate, so Phil did. "Like you said, Clint is a nice guy. Sometimes he's too nice. He gets into fights in alleys trying to save someone. Sometimes I get there before things get out of hand and he leaves with just a few bruises. People tend to stop throwing punches at other people in alleys once a cop gets involved. Sometimes I'm too late and this happens. Clint is nice, yes. But he's also a self-righteous idiot. Its one of the many reasons why I love him." He lied smoothly. 

Mr. Schaffer narrows his eyes at Phil as if to spot a flinch or something in the man, but Phil stays still. "Show me your badge." Mr. Schaffer demanded. 

Phil felt around his jacket pocket to find the fake badge he carries around and presented it to Mr. Schaffer. He took the badge and examined it before handing it back to Phil. 

"Okay. I believe you, for now. But we'll be keeping a close eye on you, Phillip." Mr. Schaffer left the kitchen and after a few seconds, he heard the door close. He sighed in relief. 

Phil went back to the living room. Clint took one look at him and asked, "What was that about?"

Phil smiled, "Nothing." He assured Clint. "You have nice neighbors."

"Their cookies aren't half bad either." Clint said, shoving a whole cookie into his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> [Here on tumblr](http://promptmephlint.tumblr.com/post/122682531111/i-never-realized-how-long-i-was-spending-in-front)


End file.
